Board Elects Unauthorized Practice of Law Chair and Vice Chair

Attorneys Curt Sybert (left) and John Chester, Jr. will lead the Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law of the Supreme Court of Ohio this year as chair and vice chair respectively.

Attorneys Curt Sybert (left) and John Chester, Jr. will lead the Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law of the Supreme Court of Ohio this year as chair and vice chair respectively.

Two Ohio attorneys will lead the Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) of the Ohio Supreme Court and help make recommendations on cases where those not authorized to practice law in Ohio violate those rules. Curt Sybert of Powell and John Chester, Jr. of Columbus were elected as chair and vice chair of the 2013 board respectively.

The board consists of 13 members who are appointed to three-year terms by the Supreme Court. The board conducts hearings, preserves the record, and makes findings and recommendations to the Supreme Court in cases involving the alleged unauthorized practice of law. The board is also authorized to issue informal, nonbinding advisory opinions on matters concerning the unauthorized practice of law.

Sybert is serving his third term on the board and has been the board’s liaison with the Attorney General’s Office for collection efforts of the civil penalties imposed by the Supreme Court upon individuals who have been found to have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. He is an attorney at Scherner & Sybert LLC and served as the board’s vice chair in 2012.

“I have had the privilege of serving on the Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law since January of 2008. I am excited and humbled to be chosen chair for 2013,” Sybert said. “I know I have some big shoes to fill and feel that with the help of Vice Chair John Chester and Minerva Elizaga, UPL Board Secretary, we should be in good hands. I am looking forward to this opportunity, and it is my privilege to serve the Supreme Court of Ohio.”

Chester is an attorney at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Columbus and specializes in corporate and business law matters, real estate, and civil litigation. The two will serve their positions until December 31, 2013. UPL’s immediate past chair is Kevin L. Williams of Columbus.